Live is short, Oct. edition

Toronto-area show highlights for October

As a supplement to my regular show listings (recently updated!), my semi-regular digest of just my top picks, or where I would be this month if time and money were no object and Sigmund Freud’s wife was your mother.

I’m part of a panel on Tues, Oct 7, talking about Los Angeles music critic Jeff Weiss’s new book Waiting for Britney Spears. Further info below.

Wed Oct 1: Holy Oak Family Singers (this month’s theme: Steely Dan), Tranzac, 7 pm, pwyc (monthly)

Thu Oct 2: Project Nowhere festival w/ Ribbon Skirt, Water From Your Eyes, Bonnie Trash, No Joy, Truck Violence, Freak He, Waves, TEKE::TEKE, Scott Hardware, Noble Rot, Lee Paradise, the Armed, Warmduscher, Desire, Johnny Jewel, the Mystery Lights, more, Dundas Street West venues (Oct 2-4)

Fri Oct 3: Project Nowhere festival w/ Ribbon Skirt, Water From Your Eyes, Bonnie Trash, No Joy, Truck Violence, Freak He, Waves, TEKE::TEKE, Scott Hardware, Noble Rot, Lee Paradise, the Armed, Warmduscher, Desire, Johnny Jewel, the Mystery Lights, more, Dundas St. West venues (Oct 2-4)
- Swans, Phoenix
- Ron Hawkins, Stephen Stanley Band (both ex-Lowest of the Low), Rivoli
- Fembots, Sellers & Newel

Sat Oct 4: Project Nowhere festival w/ Ribbon Skirt, Water From Your Eyes, Bonnie Trash, No Joy, Truck Violence, Freak He, Waves, TEKE::TEKE, Scott Hardware, Noble Rot, Lee Paradise, the Armed, Warmduscher, Desire, Johnny Jewel, the Mystery Lights, more, Dundas St. West venues (Oct 2-4)
- Charlotte Cornfield, Music Garden (Harbourfront), 7:30 pm, free
- Colin Fisher (guitar) & Steve Kado (ex-Barcelona Pavilion, the Blankket, Hidden Cameras) (drum machine), Le Monde (Kensington Market, msg for address), 8 pm, $20/pwyc
- The Klezmatics, Lemon Bucket Orkestra, Parkdale Hall

Mon Oct 6: Stereolab, Dorothea Paas, Danforth Music Hall
- Trampoline Hall Lecture Series, Garrison, 8 pm (adv tickets necessary)

Tue Oct 7: Jeff Weiss panel to discuss his book Waiting for Britney Spears, w/ Carl Wilson (that’s me), Natalie Harmsen (CBC Music), plus Chai Sully singing Britney covers, Annex Hotel, 296 Brunswick Ave., doors 6 pm, panel 7:30 pm, $10

Wed Oct 8: Destroyer, Cass McCombs, the Opera House
- Popular Music Books in Process (online books series) w/ David Hesmondhalgh, ed, Music Streaming around the World (University of California Press), along with contributors Raquel Campos Valverde, Zhongwei Li, and Shuwen Qu, 5:30 pm, free (see link above to join)

Thu Oct 9: Selina Martin, Jennifer Foster, the Piston

Fri Oct 10: Norman Nawrocki (Rhythm Activism, Montreal) presents Squat the City: How to Use the Arts for Housing Justice, Another Story Bookshop, 8:30 pm
- Mad Professor, Lee’s Palace
- Jeff Tweedy, Macie Stewart, Concert Hall
- Isaiah Collier, 918 Bathurst, 8 pm, $70-$80 (also Oct 11)

Sat Oct 11: Geese, Racing Mount Pleasant, Opera House
- Isaiah Collier, 918 Bathurst, 8 pm, $70-$80 (also Oct 10)

Sun Oct 12: Brunch w/ Mark Hundevad Trio w/ guests Isaiah Collier & Tony Zawinul, Contxt by Trane, 254 Lansdowne Ave., 11 a.m. (music at 1:30 pm) $55-$65

Tue Oct 14: Jane Siberry, “raw new songs,” Sellers & Newel (sold out)
- Kneecap (Ireland), History (also Oct 15) (?? - Visa status unclear)

Wed Oct 15: Kneecap (Ireland), History (also Oct 14) (?? - Visa status unclear)
- Chris Thile (Nickel Creek), Koerner Hall
- Miki Berenyi Trio (ex-Lush), Gina Birch (Raincoats), Great Hall
- X Avant XX w/ Tribute to James Tenney & Ron Gaskin w/ Critical Band, Eucalyptus, Music Gallery, $20-$30+ (pwyc) (festival Oct 15-18)

Thu Oct 16: X Avant XX w/ Sisso & Maiko: Singeli (Tanzania), Violence Gratuite (Paris), Music Gallery, $20-$30+ (pwyc) (festival Oct 15-18)
- Joan Shelley, Monarch Tavern

Fri Oct 17: Doechii, Coca-Cola Coliseum (CNE)
- Jesse DeNatale (San Francisco), Barbara Lynch, Sellers & Newel (also Oct 18)
- X Avant XX w/ Yaz Lancaster (NYC), Roa Lee (Gayageum), Colin Fisher, Music Gallery, $20-$30+ (pwyc) (festival Oct 15-18)

Sat Oct 18: X Avant XX w/ AfroHORN (heavy-duty Afro-Cuban jazz group w/ Francisco Mora Catlett, drums/ Aruan Ortiz, piano/ Alex Harding, bari sax/ Sam Newsome, soprano sax), Milena Casado (Spain/NYC), Music Gallery, $20-$30+ (pwyc) (festival Oct 15-18)
- Jesse Welles, Danforth Music Hall
- Jesse DeNatale (San Francisco), Barbara Lynch, Sellers & Newel (also Oct 17)

Mon Oct 20: Neko Case, Des Demonas, Massey Hall

Tue Oct 21: Ms Ezra Furman, the Mod Club
- David Byrne, Massey Hall (Oct 21-23)

Wed Oct 22: Craig Finn (Hold Steady), Longboat Hall
- Autechre, Danforth Music Hall
- David Byrne, Massey Hall (Oct 21-23)

Thu Oct 23: David Byrne, Massey Hall (Oct 21-23)

Fri Oct 24: The World Provider (album release), The Great Octopus, BSMT 254, doors 7 pm, show 7:30 pm, $12-$15
- Oscar Peterson’s 100th (II) w/ Benny Green, Christian McBride, and the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, Koerner Hall, $90+

Sat Oct 25: Oscar Peterson’s 100th (III) w/ Cécile McLorin Salvant Trio, and piano solos by Makoto Ozone, Jon Kimura Parker, Amanda Tosoff, Thompson Egbo-Egbo, Koerner Hall, 7 pm, $65+

Sun Oct 26: Legendary Pink Dots, Dance Cave (above Lee’s)

Mon Oct 27: Little Simz (UK), History
- Pink Pantheress, Massey Hall (also Oct 29, 30)

Tue Oct 28: PEN Canada: Notes on the New America w/ Rachel Maddow and Rebecca Solnit in conversation, intro by Margaret Atwood, Koerner Hall, 7:30 pm, $39+

Wed Oct 29: Popular Music Books in Process (online books series) w/ Masha Salazkina and Usha Iyer, The Global Phenomenon of Boney M (work in progress), in conversation with Elena Razlogova, 5:30 pm, free
- Fruit Bats (Eric D. Johnson solo), Longboat Hall
- Pink Pantheress, Massey Hall (also Oct 30)

Thu Oct 30: Pink Pantheress, Massey Hall (also Oct 30)

Fri Oct 31: The very scarrrry Ryan Driver Sextet, Tranzac, 9:30 pm (monthly)